Illinois advocates call to restore undocumented immigrant healthcare

CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — Advocates are calling for Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to restore healthcare access for undocumented immigrants in the state.

A group of doctors and nurses with Healthy Illinois rallied at Chicago’s Alivio Medical Center on Thursday.

The state is set to scale back health care benefits for undocumented adults starting next month, with copays for hospital visits going up as well.

The state is also limiting the number of undocumented seniors who can enroll, but health advocates said that excluding people from the program could prove more costly for the state in the long run.

“Not only is it immoral to deny health care to these human beings, it is also shortsighted and fiscally unsound,” said Dr. Katherine Tynus. “As a primary care physician, I can attest to the fact that care that is delayed or denied or unrecognized leads to higher cost.”

Critics, however, said that the state cannot afford the program, and that the steps are necessary to stem rising costs.

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